It’s about time I write a review for
Doppelganger by the Fall Of Troy, as I have been into them for quite some time now. I guess I should start off by saying that this band somehow fuses many genres together to create one great product. Through their music, you can feel the progression along with some emotion. The only thing more shocking than hearing the actual music, was learning the lead (and only) guitarist also manages to sing. I was mind boggled at the fact that the guitar lines are absolutely insane, quick, and variant, and yet someone can produce vocals as their hand begins to break the time continuum because of the speed of the play. The band just signed on to Equal Vision, which has managed to become my favorite label. How could I resist with bands like Coheed and Cambria, Fear Before, Mindless Self Indulgence, and Bear Vs Shark. Fall of Troy comes along and tries to squeeze an inch in on Fear Before as the best hardcore band on the label. They squeezed in a few feet instead to meet their prize.
Some say that the band has somewhat “sold-out” due to switching labels and re-recording songs because of supposed “song errors”. But some people also say that “Grind” is the least talented genre. I’ve heard the previous versions of those four songs on the band’s self-titled album. If you were to ask me, the remakes are a lot better than the originals. For example, the song F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X is what replaced F.C.P.S.I.T… on the other album. The new one towers over the older one because it is more musically advanced than its predecessor. But this isn’t the case with all the remakes. Macauly McCaulkin was a trillion times better on Ghostship Demos. They cut out some of the intensity to make it seem like a slow song to close the album, and sadly, it just doesn’t fit in at all. The old one has a simple distorted and reverberated guitar hit. Either a single or double stroke, and that’s all. The new one has insane guitar picking to acquire the same sound as the original, but to make it sound better in the process. It was details like that, that were added to ensure success with the band’s sophomore album.
If you have never heard Fall Of Troy, get two cd players next to each other. Play Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus by Mars Volta in one, then in the next one, play Against Automation by Ampere. That is pretty close to what they sound like. If you ask me,
Doppelganger is beautiful. It’s tracks like “Tom Waits” that make us scream from joy. A quick hardcore romp with crazy guitar and overwhelming screaming. I heart the vocals, when you first hear them, they will sound a bit annoying because it sounds like he’s trying too hard. But soon you will learn to love them as I have. The instrumentation on this album difficult to explain. The band can produce so much, but they use effects a little too often. They need to lay off some of the pedals.
If I really wanted to have a problem with the band, then it would be that in some cases, the songs can get a pretty repetitive. Some of the track “Laces Out, Dan” sounds just like some riffs in “Whacko Jacko”. But in the end, this is inevitable due to the complexity and speed of the guitar lines. When you jump back and fourth to one sound in less than 30 seconds, it seems like more repetitively then if you venture to the a new sound and back in a matter of two minutes. There are also those songs that just need to end already, either because the overall sound of the track is like the one-flavored ice cream sundae, or it just runs too long for your liking. Some pretty sappy lyrics also bring this one down a bit.
One song good enough to describe as my favorite would have to be “Laces Out, Dan”. It opens coming off the of the big close to The Hol[ ]y Tape, so it starts up with a gradual volume. Then the guitar is suddenly sent to an institution because it’s insane (lame joke). The bass is thumping and carrying a quick and heavy line. The drums are loud due to the constant smashing of the various cymbals over and over again. Then comes the bridge of the track, a high pitched scream, and one of the only with a message like “Did you think that I was Joking!” This is one of the shorter songs on the album, but it is definitely a notable one as well.
If you picked up one Fall Of Troy album, this would be the one to get. It shows the overall talent of the band to the fullest extent. The guitar work alone makes this album deserving of the score I’ll give it. Don’t take the label of “Hardcore” to heart either. Trust me, I would not pick up an album from a band that constantly talks about wrist slitting and death crap. Mention my HH review, and die. Just kidding. Despite the remade songs, and only being left with six new ones, this is an overall great album. I am looking forward to the future for this band, hopefully they don’t go all pop/punk on us. I am also looking forward to seeing them with HORSE the band and Poison the Well. I will edit this review with a “live” section after the show.
